


a hundred years young

by generalsen



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Post-Canon, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), basically just fluff, but v soft and chaste, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25605679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/generalsen/pseuds/generalsen
Summary: Zelda had never been a fan of entirely rugged men - she preferred Link’s combination of hard and soft, the gentle curve of his cheek and the set line of his brow. He looked intently down at his hands as he prepared their meal.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 111





	a hundred years young

“We should find a place to settle for the night.”

When she was met with a middling grunt, Zelda looked up from her Sheikah Slate and over to Link, who lifted his hands from his horse’s mane at her attention and signed, _A little more. To get to Hateno in good time._ Then, a pause, accompanied by an ever-so-slight furrow of his brow. _Tired?_

Zelda shook her head. “No, I’m alright. I just want us to get enough rest so we can make the final stretch tomorrow with no hiccups.” She put the Sheikah Slate back in its pouch at her hip and twirled a strand of Storm’s mane on her pinky finger, stared at the greenery and wildlife surrounding them. Although not very dense in Hyrule Plains, it was still beautiful to look at illuminated by the sun before it fully set. Every speck of color from the various species of flower that dotted the grassland still felt surreal to witness after 100 years of sinister blacks and purples. Zelda meant to say it nonchalantly, like it was small talk, but her voice betrayed the weight of the sentiment. “It’ll be nice to sleep on the grass and under the stars.”

Link didn’t respond right away. He just locked eyes with her for a moment, then looked up at the sky as the colors of the sunset gradually gave way to those small, flickering lights. No matter how long he spent in the wilderness, no matter how much it beat him around, Zelda always felt that whenever she saw him truly pause to gaze upon it, his still, blue eyes, which rarely betrayed anything at all, were full of a silent reverence.

They rode on until they reached the edge of a forest. Zelda didn’t need help down from her horse, she grew up on the saddle and her riding skills rivalled his, but she found herself being helped off anyways. A confused protest caught in her throat as she gazed upon his face and felt a sudden urge for closeness. Even through his gloves, she could feel the warmth of his hands as he guided her off the white stallion. His hands lingered on her hips before he let go with a sharp inhale and stepped back, like he had been burned, and quickly shuffled back to his own horse, to dig through the satchel on his saddle. 

Zelda let out a stuttering exhale and tried to remain composed as she sat underneath the tree, held her knees in her arms, lay her head back on the trunk, and thought.

It was clear from when they first reunited that Link had some memories of her, but they were patchy, and that was reflected in the way they interacted. Before the Calamity, being around Link was like breathing. It was easy and essential. Of course, it took a long time to get to that point, but once they settled into their life together, it felt like nothing could shake them. They touched, and laughed, and soon, even talked - she opened him up enough so that the selectively mute Link began to choose her to expend his limited and rarely-tapped-into energy for words on her, and in the many times he did not choose to speak or even sign, she learned to read his silence as easily as she would a sign at a crossroads, or a tome she’s poured a million times over. 

Zelda heard his footsteps and raised her head, face trained into indifference as he came over with some ingredients from his satchel and thistle from the forest. Despite her mind telling her to stay back, to keep her distance, she still found herself trying to help him cook. Her hand went to rest on the hilt of her knife to chop the mushrooms, but before she even drew it, Link’s eyes flicked to that hand and he raised his own, a clear indicator. Let me. 

And so, she watched him as he chopped and skinned and seasoned with trained precision. His hair seemed a golden halo as the fire illuminated his face. Zelda had never been a fan of entirely rugged men - she preferred Link’s combination of hard and soft, the gentle curve of his cheek and the set line of his brow. He looked intently down at his hands as he prepared their meal.

“Cooking was a nice thing to calm me.” Zelda tried to hide her shock at his voice, unused and barely audible over the crackling of the fire. “As I travelled.”

A hundred years. A hundred years since she had heard his voice. It was hard to steady an exhale which threatened to stutter and reveal her. “It must have been lonely.”

He raised his right brow, the movement so slight it could go unnoticed. “I wasn’t the one stuck in a castle for over a century.” Zelda hummed in acknowledgement. There was no denying that. A moment of silence passed, Zelda’s arms hugged around her legs and Link sitting cross legged as he put the chunks of vegetable on large skewers over the fire. 

“It wasn’t too bad. I felt you, sometimes…” He trailed off and looked at the roasting mushrooms regretfully, as if he wished he had not said anything at all.

“What do you mean?”

“In… wind. Like… like the wild spoke to me.” A faint blush bloomed across his pale cheeks. “I always felt you waiting. I think my head was just trying to piece things together after my sleep.” His words were so hesitant. Something twisted in her chest. He took the chunks of mushroom and pepper and set them in a small, wooden bowl to the side. A few minutes later, when the salt-rubbed meat was adequately cooked through and browned from all sides, he placed the ingredients on smaller skewers, alternating between veggies and meat. When Link handed Zelda her skewer, it was with averted eyes. Almost embarrassed. It was only then that the truth dawned on her. He thinks it was all in his head.

Link raised a skewer to his lips with the haste of a starving man while Zelda cradled it in her lap and stared down at the perfectly roasted bits of mushroom, pepper and chicken. “Link.”

The knight tentatively lowered the skewer to his lap. She met his questioning eyes. A bit of juice from the meat dribbled down his chin, and Zelda had to resist the urge to learn over and wipe it off, like she once would have done without ceremony.

“It wasn’t in your head. I was there. From the moment your eyes opened, I was there. I saw you, and when I couldn’t see you, I felt you. At once far and a hair’s breadth away.” Her vision unexpectedly blurred before her, so she breathed carefully, deeply, desperate to retain her composure. “You weren’t alone, Link, and from the moment you woke, neither was I.”

Link’s pupils widened and he slowly nodded. He looked like there was something else unsettled within him, and in all honesty, she felt the same - like despite that moment of closeness they had just shared, there was a rift between them.

After a few moments of silence, Zelda rose to start on setting up their tent, which was partially to be helpful and partially to wipe her eyes. She left Link staring at the flames. As she rose to reach their horses for the setup, Link grabs her wrist - loosely enough so she could easily wriggle away, but insistent nonetheless. Her breath caught as she looked down at him to find a sort of intense, pleading look in his eyes, and some things never changed and she knew that look, knew what he was about to do - even so, when he tugged her down to kneel and pressed his lips to hers, the world froze around her.

Link quickly released her wrist to cup her cheek gently. The kiss was chaste and overflowing with tenderness, but she could feel his bottom lip quiver so slightly. There was a fear there. Zelda had only just started to recover from the assault of emotion and press back against him before he pulled away. He opened his mouth to speak, but overwhelmed, his hand left her cheek to sign quickly, words her eyes only barely caught as he signed messily. _Improper. I’m sorry. I remember. I don’t know, Do you still -_

“I do.” Her voice trembled. She gingerly raised her hand to rest on his, intertwined their fingers and squeezed. His palms were a little sweaty, but it didn’t bother her. “I thought you didn’t, and I was scared to… to ruin what we’ve just restarted.” Zelda could hear her voice wavering as she continued. “So this… this is okay? We caan…”

Link still had that look in his eyes, those deep blue eyes which so rarely betrayed anything, like he was going to die if he couldn’t kiss her. When he did it again, it was Zelda who trembled with ever so slightly, as her brain caught up to the fact that this was Link, her Link, really here, kissing her, and her mind backpedalled immediately to their first, a literal lifetime ago, when he they kissed, just like this, before a campfire they set up on their way to the Spring of Wisdom. When they parted again, Zelda rested her forehead upon his, and gazed upon his flushed face. And there was a moment, then, when she saw him slip into comfort, and his lips quirked ever so slightly. “At least this time, we’re not on our way to a holy ground.”

Zelda paused before giggling slightly, still leaned into him, and he did too, and their breath mingled in the air between them. Warm, pure, a hundred years young. She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You’re right. We aren’t nearly as disgraceful.”

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't beat ganon but i found all the memories so this is my celebratory drabble <3


End file.
